- connects network devices over a relatively short distance
- A networked office building, school, or home usually contains a single LAN, though sometimes one building will contain a few small LANs (perhaps one per room), and occasionally a LAN will span a group of nearby buildings. In TCP/IP networking, a LAN is often but not always implemented as a single IP subnet.
- typically owned, controlled, and managed by a single person or organization
- tend to use certain connectivity technologies, primarily Ethernet and Token Ring.
WLAN - Wireless Local Area Network
- a LAN based on WiFi (wireless network technology)
WAN - Wide Area Network *
- spans a large physical distance. The Internet is the largest WAN, spanning the Earth.
- a geographically-dispersed collection of LANs. A network device called a router connects LANs to a WAN. In IP networking, the router maintains both a LAN address and a WAN address
- A WAN differs from a LAN in several important ways:
- Most WANs (like the Internet) are not owned by any one organization but rather exist under collective or distributed ownership and management
- WANs tend to use technology like ATM, Frame Relay and X.25 for connectivity over the longer distances
MAN - Metropolitan Area Network *
- a network spanning a physical area larger than a LAN but smaller than a WAN, such as a city
- typically owned an operated by a single entity such as a government body or large corporation - connect multiple geographically nearby LANs to one another (over an area of up to a few dozen kilometres) at high speeds
- lets two remote nodes communicate as if they were part of the same local area network- made from switches or routers connected to one another with high-speed links (usually fibre optic cables) Other Networks:
SAN - Storage Area Network, System Area Network, Server Area Network, or sometimes Small Area Network
Storage Area Network
- connects servers to data storage devices through a technology like Fibre Channel System Area Network
- links high-performance computers with high-speed connections in a cluster configuration. Also known as Cluster Area Network
CAN - Campus Area Network, Controller Area Network, or sometimes Cluster Area Network
- a network spanning multiple LANs but smaller than a MAN, such as on a university or local business campus.
PAN - Personal Area Network
- introduced by Thomas Zimmerman
- the communication network established for the purpose of connecting computer devices of personal use
- established by connecting phone lines to personal digital devices or PDAs (personal digital assistants)
DAN - Desk Area Network
- an interconnection of computer devices around the ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode)
- enables the network to share resources over the network
- provides the access to foreign devices
- enables to form A/V connection
- works on a simple process
- Ex: When you put a cassette into a VCR, it is automatically connected to the monitor.
(VCR and other related devices are often connected to the network in order to built DAN (Desk Area Network))
Types of Networks
Main Types of Networks:- LAN - Local Area Network *
- connects network devices over a relatively short distance- A networked office building, school, or home usually contains a single LAN, though sometimes one building will contain a few small LANs (perhaps one per room), and occasionally a LAN will span a group of nearby buildings. In TCP/IP networking, a LAN is often but not always implemented as a single IP subnet.
- typically owned, controlled, and managed by a single person or organization
- tend to use certain connectivity technologies, primarily Ethernet and Token Ring.
- WLAN - Wireless Local Area Network
- a LAN based on WiFi (wireless network technology)- WAN - Wide Area Network *
- spans a large physical distance. The Internet is the largest WAN, spanning the Earth.- a geographically-dispersed collection of LANs. A network device called a router connects LANs to a WAN. In IP networking, the router maintains both a LAN address and a WAN address
- A WAN differs from a LAN in several important ways:
- Most WANs (like the Internet) are not owned by any one organization but rather exist under collective or distributed ownership and management
- WANs tend to use technology like ATM, Frame Relay and X.25 for connectivity over the longer distances
- MAN - Metropolitan Area Network *
- a network spanning a physical area larger than a LAN but smaller than a WAN, such as a city- typically owned an operated by a single entity such as a government body or large corporation
- connect multiple geographically nearby LANs to one another (over an area of up to a few dozen kilometres) at high speeds
- lets two remote nodes communicate as if they were part of the same local area network- made from switches or routers connected to one another with high-speed links (usually fibre optic cables)
Other Networks:
- SAN - Storage Area Network, System Area Network, Server Area Network, or sometimes Small Area Network
Storage Area Network- connects servers to data storage devices through a technology like Fibre Channel
System Area Network
- links high-performance computers with high-speed connections in a cluster configuration. Also known as Cluster Area Network
- CAN - Campus Area Network, Controller Area Network, or sometimes Cluster Area Network
- a network spanning multiple LANs but smaller than a MAN, such as on a university or local business campus.- PAN - Personal Area Network
- introduced by Thomas Zimmerman- the communication network established for the purpose of connecting computer devices of personal use
- established by connecting phone lines to personal digital devices or PDAs (personal digital assistants)
- DAN - Desk Area Network
- an interconnection of computer devices around the ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode)- enables the network to share resources over the network
- provides the access to foreign devices
- enables to form A/V connection
- works on a simple process
- Ex: When you put a cassette into a VCR, it is automatically connected to the monitor.
(VCR and other related devices are often connected to the network in order to built DAN (Desk Area Network))
References:
http://compnetworking.about.com/od/basicnetworkingconcepts/a/network_types.htmhttp://en.kioskea.net/contents/initiation/types.php3
http://www.freewimaxinfo.com/personal-area-network-pan.html
http://www.freewimaxinfo.com/desk-area-network-dan.html
- LaJae Coleman